The online retail world has become a battleground with everyone lining up against Amazon. Over the past few years, the Amazon business model has proven to be so successful that Amazon is now one of the largest retailers in the world. As Amazon continues to gobble up market share, it is having a significant effect on other online retailers and the way they market their businesses.
Prior to Amazon, all a retailer had to do was put up their website and they would usually attract some sort of start-up audience. But since Amazon has become dominant, it has become increasingly difficult for other online retailers to attract business.
Amazon is forcing other retailers to innovate the way they do business and the way they look for new customers if they want to combat Amazon. The fact that Amazon is also a collective of small online retailers makes it even more important that small businesses find new ways to attract business or they will not be around for very long.
Any small online retailer can pretty much assume that their general “we sell products” marketing message is going to get lost among the loud Amazon chatter. Because Amazon is so dominant in the general retail marketing world, it becomes more important for smaller retailers to find a niche they can exploit. While Amazon also does niche marketing, it usually leaves that up to its affiliate retailers. If you have a strong niche marketing message, then you can be heard through the Amazon din.
Any online retailer who does not post a customer service phone number or who does not respond immediately to customer service emails will not survive in the world of Amazon. Early in its existence, Amazon made a point of developing a reputation for excellent customer service. As the company has gotten bigger, that customer service quality has dropped. But it is still at a point where any online retailer who is not offering the Amazon basics of customer service is going to have a hard time surviving.
If you are an online retailer trying to stand on your own against Amazon, then you need to at least appear to have a massive operation. You need to show customers that you have shipping and warehousing options that will decrease the possibility of running out of product. How can a small business do that? By teaming up with wholesalers who have multiple shipping locations.
When an online retailer teams up with a blind dropshipper, the retailer can put that dropshipper’s locations on its marketing as though they were the retailer’s locations. Amazon has convinced consumers that only large retailers can provide the highest level of service, and small businesses need to find ways to increase their appearance or be bowled over by Amazon.
There has always been competition in business, and the competition Amazon offers is no different. As a global retail power, Amazon can make life miserable for its smaller competitors. But any online retailer who understands how to survive in an Amazon world can put together an offering that will attract customers and generate revenue.
